10.06 is an audio tonic. In a time where the medium of electronic music is becoming shallower, the trio of FSOL, Monolake and Morley dare to dive deep into some of the basic tenets of the human condition. Our everyday world. Our work. Our wonderment. Three starkly different styles that drive at central questions. In an age where we seem to be bombarded by our own external individualism, it is seriously refreshing to listen to music that promotes introspection, reflection, and even some awe.
Like a locomotive, like a Sheffield steel mill, like a Detroit car manufacturer, De:Tuned has consistently delivered, on time, the musical goods of its ten year anniversary series. As number six lands, this rhetoric of the industrial is counter to the focus of this current installment. Of course the machine is present, the focus of 10.06 is firmly fixed on human behind those banks of equipment.
“Skinny Xam” is a short immersive work care of The Future Sound of London. In reality, this track could easily be a contemporary audio interaction in the English capital. A flurry of digital life jitters, pixelated insects beating invisible wings to the bassy chimes of traffic. All of these varied noises, tones and sounds are lacquered in a thick glaze, dipped in an aquatic haze to amplify and harmonize this sensory soundscape. A minimal master follows. Monolake is arguably more famous for spearheading Ableton as they are for their pioneering work in dub techno. Now fronted by Robert Henke, the offering for 10.06 comes from a familiar place. “ForC106q” is forged in the factory furnaces that stoked the flames of Basic Channel. From a lone ball bearing beat a plethora of percussion blooms. Cold and distanced, Henke skirts the abstract perimeters of electro while delving into the circadian rhythmic limits of stripped back drum and bass to produce a mesmeric piece. The flip is given over to David Morley, a founding father of ambient techno. Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t disappoint. “Traytor” is pure stargazing brilliance. Early rumblings arc into soaring strings before a distortion soaked snare rises. Nothing is overstated in “Traytor,” nothing is over elaborated or stretched. Instead Morley, as is his way, finds a balance that allows each element to fulfill its role, giving space and time while nurturing with warmth.
10.06 is an audio tonic. In a time where the medium of electronic music is becoming shallower, the trio of FSOL, Monolake and Morley dare to dive deep into some of the basic tenets of the human condition. Our everyday world. Our work. Our wonderment. Three starkly different styles that drive at central questions. In an age where we seem to be bombarded by our own external individualism, it is seriously refreshing to listen to music that promotes introspection, reflection, and even some awe.
DE:10.06 is available on De:tuned.
